Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to El Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

EL, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

It started out as a dream: me and my best friend in a house/metaphysical shop/cat café helping baby witches get affordable witchy wares, bringing local bands to play and helping cats get adopted.
Then life got in the way. Years passed. I had a kid, and by then the idea had all but faded from our minds.
The summer of 2022 I decided to bring it back to life, as a small little witchy shop called Of Rune & Ritual. My friend became a tattoo artist and I started my shop. The business changed a year and a half ago when I realized somebody else had a similar business name and I wanted to cement my image. Crow and Marigold is a collage between Witch Shop/Apothecary/Art Shop that mixes the cute and the occult into an alternative style. I sell anything from chainmail necklaces with crystals based on deities to handmade pagan worship devotional candles. I make art prints of the gods, horror movies or your favorite folklore creature and stickers and keychains to go with it. If you like cute things, witchcraft, occult rituals, cozy witchy art and magic, my shop is for you.
Over the past years I’ve worked hard to promote the shop, sell at markets, and do giveaways all so that I can bring that dream to life: a metaphysical shop where everyone comes to hang out, where local events happen and that gives back to the community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Crow and Marigold is a collage between Witch Shop/Apothecary/Art Shop that mixes the cute and the occult into an alternative style. I sell anything from chainmail necklaces with crystals based on deities to handmade pagan worship devotional candles. I make art prints of the gods, horror movies or your favorite folklore creature and stickers and keychains to go with it. I have yet to see a cute aligned metaphysical shop where your mystical ritual items are cute coded. Here, our candles are cute, our jewelry witchy and everything down to the stickers hand made. If you like cute things, witchcraft, occult rituals, cozy witchy art and magic, my shop is for you.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Funding my business was difficult. It basically came down to scrounging for supplies and using public resources. I started by strapping my then 2 months old on to me and walking to the local library(I didn’t have a car) to use their maker space to make my stickers. My best friend gifted me their leftover candle making supplies and months later my husband gifted me a candle making set. Everything I ever made went back into the business and it felt absolutely like a Sysiphean task. Once I was again gainfully employed I started using a teensy but of my paycheck to help me get nicer things for the shop. Of course that too was gone, but I’ve always put whatever I could spare(sometimes no more than 5$) into the shop. I’m committed and serious about my shop and I hope I can convey that through my hard work.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

My best source of new clients has always been craft fairs and markets. The low profit ones, the high profit ones, the shivering-cold-im-getting-frostbite ones and the so-hot-im-about-to-pass-out ones. My health has never been the best, but I’m hard working and committed to my shop. I’ll give any craft fair a chance if I can afford it. If it’s new and I lose out, I give it a second change, as it’s new. I don’t give any craft fair a third chance. I find that going out to these places and sticking my face out there and talking to people will land me future orders and people that come back. Nothing makes my blood sing more than somebody telling me they came to this fair because I would be here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Crowandmarigold.store
• Instagram: @crowandmarigold
• Facebook: Crow and Marigold Apothecary
• Twitter: @crowandmarigold
• Youtube: @crowandmarigold
• Other: Crow and Marigold on every social media